Clasp for dental plates



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W. S. ELLIOTT. CLASP FOR DENTAL PLATES.

No. 564,600. I Patented July 2841896..

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER S. ELLIOTT, OF SAG HARBOR, NEW YORK.

CLASP FOR DENTAL PLATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 564,600, dated July 28, 1896.

A u ti fil d March 23, 1896. Serial ITO-584,479. (NomodeL) .To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER S. ELLIOTT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sag Harbor, in the county of Suffolk and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clasps for Dental Plates; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in clasps for dental plates,and it has for its objects, among others, to provide a simple, cheap, and light clasp that can be easily and quickly and correctly adapted to the contour of the natural tooth and which will be incapable of retaining food and foreign substances which tend to induce to fermentation and consequent erosion of tooth substance. The clasp is free from any jagged edges or corners, and thus conduces to the comfort of the tongue or other tissues. It requires no anchorage other than the ends of the wire, which can be embedded in the rubber plate or soldered directly to the metal plate. Flat metal clamps are objectionable for want of cleanliness. A single wire clasp does not possess sufficient strength or rigidity. My clasp overcomes both of these objectionable features.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof will be specifically defined by the appended claim.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked. thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a view showing one of my clasps applied to a dental plate. Fig. 2 is aview of the clasp removed.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in both views.

Referring now to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates the clasp,which is composed of a single piece of wire of the required size bent at its center, as seen at a, and the two arms thereof then extended substantially parallel with each other on a curve, and the ends of the wire adapted to be embedded in the plate when of rubber or soldered directly to the same when of metal. The ends of the wire may extend at an angle from the double arms or in line therewith, depending upon the manner in which the clasp is to be affixed to the plate, but this is a matter to be left with the dentist. In all of its forms the bend of the wire at the junction of the double curved arms is left free, so that it may be readily made to conform to the contour of the natural tooth about which it is to be secured.

When the ends of the wire are extended at a right angle to the curved arms, the wire Will of course be bent upon opposite sides of the center of the curved arms.

Other modifications in the formation of the clasp may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages so long as there is retained the essential feature of the double arms free to be bent to conform to the contour of the tooth.

What is claimed as new is- A dental clasp formed of wire bent to form parallel curved arms arranged at a distance apart and of resilient material adapted to be made to conform to the contour of a tooth, the extended free ends of the wire being adapted to be secured to a dental plate substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WALTER S. ELLIOTT.

WVitnesses:

H. H. GLEASON, W. O. GREENE. 

